It doesn't happen to every child to the same degree, but as Barbara Loe Fisher states, "When it happens to your child, the risks are 100%." I beg you to do your research, so if your child has a reaction, you at least knew it was a possibility. There is not enough informed consent at pediatrician's offices. Don't expect to get all of the information you need at a doctor's visits.

"I didn't know...."

Tyler, 8, has suffered from a seizure disorder since he was 4 months old. His family has spent years seeking treatment for the disorder, which has caused his development to slow

The twins experienced their first seizures within 10 hours of receiving a vaccine, Shortell said. Alex died from the disorder before his second birthday. According to Shortell, doctors have found mercury in Tyler’s system that may have been introduced by the DPT vaccine. Thimerosal is a kind of mercury used as a preservative in vaccines.

"They’re trying to detox that out of his body because nothing is getting absorbed. The metal blocks anything from getting into his body," Shortell said. "At least we know. Now I have a cause after all this time. I wish I had known (when the twins were) 4 months of age, but I never thought of that because a vaccine is there to protect them."

At two months of age I brought Ryan to the doctor for his well-baby checkup. He was given his first DPT shot. Within 24 hours he started to change. Ryan became lethargic and fussy, ran a high fever, and had a glassy-eyed stare. The doctor `reassured' me everything was okay. He recommended baby aspirin.

Several weeks later, after Ryan's 2nd DPT shot, his reactions were the same. He also had severe diarrhea, loss of interest in his bottle, choking, continued staring spells, and prolonged sleeping -- except when he was high-pitched screaming. Again I contacted the doctor and again I was "reassured" everything was okay. Soon thereafter Ryan developed a severe rash on his bottom. The doctor treated it as a diaper rash. I had three children previously and had never seen a diaper rash like this.

After Ryan received his 3rd DPT shot at 10 months of age, his father and I became very concerned that something was seriously wrong. Ryan's health was deteriorating rapidly. His reaction to this shot was much more severe. He ran a fever of 106 degrees. He screamed, stared, and had severe diarrhea. His hands and lips turned blue. The site of the injection leaked a clear fluid, and his thigh, from hip to knee, was red and hot.

Ryan's development was regressing. Although he walked at 10 months, at one year he was taking "a few steps." What few words he previously uttered were lost. His speech just stopped.

At 17 months, on a particularly bad day, I called the doctor in the evening to tell him something was terribly wrong with my baby. He told me "I only handle emergencies at night." Four weeks later Ryan was hospitalized with a high fever and pneumonia. At the hospital I was told for the first time that Ryan's "choking" and "staring" that I had previously complained about were seizures. No one ever mentioned the vaccines as the cause.

Ryan's 4th DPT shot was given at the age of 18 months. He had the same reactions as before. The next day Ryan ran a fever of 106 degrees, had seizures, and screamed constantly through the evening.

Ryan is now a teenager. He suffers from learning disabilities, seizures, asthma, headaches, hearing loss, and mastoiditis. He is being punished for our lack of knowledge.

I recently attended a parent's group that was pro-vaccine. I told my story and one mother became upset because I was "scaring" her. If you are reading this, don't feel sorry for me. Look at your own children; they're the ones at risk. I'm glad parents get scared. I hope to scare you enough to ask questions and seek the truth.

Since he had just been vaccinated, I had my "What you need to know" fact sheet that had been given to me by my pediatrician. I read, "A vaccine, like any medicine, is capable of causing serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions or anaphylaxis." I also read, seizures can in fact be a "side effect" of vaccines. It also stated in the fact sheet that of every 10,000 doses given, six will cause seizures, but like so many of us, I never thought it meant my child. A doctor explained to me, "If Chase’s seizures were related to vaccines, the seizures would take place within two days of the shot, not seven." He went on to explain vaccines are for the good of the nation, however, "there will be a few 'sacrificial soldiers' in the war on disease." He was sure my child was not one of the six who have seizures from vaccines.

What I didn’t realize is that my son was having reactions from every shot and I just hadn’t put it all together. Following his two-month vaccinations he screamed and would arch his back to such a degree I could barely hold on to him. I didn’t know the French call this the "encephalitic cry", brain damage in progress. Two weeks after his nine-month vaccination he was admitted into the hospital with uncontrollable diarrhea to which no cause was ever found. I didn’t know diarrhea was one of the ways the body rids itself of poisons. Next, he developed a rash on the back of his legs and his shoulders. The nurse diagnosed dermatitis caused by bubble bath. At this time I didn’t know the phenoxyethanol (antifreeze), a preservative that protects against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in vaccines, could cause dermatitis and eczema. I now know that all these things were attributes of vaccine damage.

I recently took our only children, Harley (2 months) and Ashlee (2 years), to the doctor for their well-baby appointments. Harley had the sniffles and Ashlee had a cold, otherwise both were in perfect health.

Harley was given his first DPT, oral polio, and Hib shots. Ashlee received her first Hib and MMR shots, as well as her third DPT and fourth oral polio shots.

After the vaccinations I laid the children down for their naps. Harley woke first; his thighs were red. I heard Ashlee wake and then I heard a 'THUMP!' Ashlee fell flat on the floor. She cried out 'Mommy, me no walk!' I checked her over and stood her up; there was no strength in either leg.

I called the hospital and rushed Ashlee to the emergency ward. The doctor never touched her, nor was she undressed. The official report stated that the child couldn't walk, 'no other problem.'

When we returned home, Harley was high-pitched screaming. The babysitter said it started more than one-and-a-half hours before. He was inconsolable. He finally screamed himself into exhaustion two hours later. I called the emergency ward. They recommended a warm bath and told me it was 'nothing to worry about.'

For ten days Harley's behavior changed. He barely slept, hardly ate, and seemed to be getting worse. On May 17, 1991, at 9:00 a.m., my husband got up, checked on Harley, and yelled out, 'Bonnie, get up, call the ambulance. Harley is dead!'

The state police and county coroner arrived with the ambulance. The coroner peered into the ambulance, never examined Harley, and stated, 'SIDS.' Harley was then rushed away. My husband and I didn't get to see him again for more than three days, until 1:00 p.m. on May 20, 1991 -- in his coffin!

I vividly remember questioning my doctors about the vaccines. It took several visits before I got the nerve to vaccinate them -- not because I was afraid of needles, but because I had a real feeling the shots weren't healthy. To my heart-wrenching regret, not one doctor offered me the list of warnings indicating which children should not be given vaccines.

When I did allow Vicki to be vaccinated at 4 months, she got very sick that night. She screamed nonstop in a high-pitched scream. She wouldn't nurse and couldn't be comforted. Her temperature was quite high. I called the emergency number for my doctor and he told me it was very important to never let Vicki receive the pertussis vaccine again, but that I should continue with the other vaccines.

Vicki's neurological problems were first noticed a few weeks later. She was behind in development and never did actually crawl. Her speech came in late. After several tests I was told that Vicki's seizure problems make it difficult for her to concentrate and thus learn, although she is quite intelligent.

I am 23 years old, married, with NOW only one son, Michael, who is 27 months old. Michael was 5 months old when I got pregnant with my second son, Jonathan.

I went to the local health department to get Michael his 2nd series of shots. At that time Jonathan was only 6 weeks old. The only shot he had ever received was the Hepatitis B that they gave him at the hospital at two days old.

When I got to the health department, the nurse gave Michael his DPT and MMR shots, and said she should go ahead and give Jonathan his shots while he was there. I said that I thought he was too young and that he had a runny nose, and I would make a separate appointment for him, but she insisted that he have them. So he got DPT, HIB, Hepatitis B, and oral polio, which personally I think is a lot of shots to give a 6 week old infant.

She was very rough with both my children and they both screamed so much at the time of the injections that I almost started to cry. After a few minutes Michael stopped crying, but Jonathan took about 15 to 20 minutes to stop crying. He finally fell asleep in the truck on the way home. As soon as we got home and I took him out of his car seat he started screaming again. This time it was very, very high pitched, and I tried everything to get him to stop crying but nothing seemed to work.

I put him in his swing and after about two hours he fell asleep again. I called a service we have called Ask-A-Nurse. The nurse advised me that if the crying started again and lasted two or more hours to take him to the Emergency Room.

Besides the crying, his leg was swollen and red. If you tried to touch his toes or anything pertaining to his left leg (the leg that had the injection) he would start crying again.

Well, six days later, December 15, 1993, Jonathan died in his sleep. He had been a very healthy child and not a bit of trouble, a good baby. The medical examiner told me that Jonathan died of SIDS, but I don't believe that and I never will. I've tried talking to [authorities], but no one seems to care. To them Jonathan was just a number. To me he is life.

When Shana, our daughter, was three months old, we took her in for her routine checkup and she was given her first round of DPT and polio shots. Soon thereafter she came down with a high fever. We were instructed to give her a fever reducer to lower her temperature. Of course we were obedient to all of the doctor's orders, trusting that with a sound medical background this was the proper thing to do. No one ever mentioned to us that we even had a choice whether or not to vaccinate our children.

After that day, Shana developed a deep, croupy cough. Her voice got deeper and deeper. She no longer slept after breastfeeding. Instead, she would arch her back and scream as if she were in horrible pain. She lost her ability to move her stools and we had to literally go up inside of her and pull her hard stools out.

I was told that she had problems with my breast milk. Like a fool, I put her on formula. Meanwhile, our doctor ordered X rays, barium swallows, and hundreds of dollars worth of useless tests to find the cause. Although I could hear Shana choking and screaming in the hospital rooms, I was told that I wasn't sanitary enough to go in and comfort her. My young children could also hear her piercing screams from the waiting area.